R18+ classification bill green lit by Australian Parliament

Legislation has been passed by Australia’s Federal Parliament to facilitate the introduction of a mature R18+ rating classification for video games, three years after the Attorney-General’s Department first published a discussion paper on the topic in 2009.

Australia finally looks set to introduce the adult-only R18+ video game rating, that has been the subject of discussion for several years. The legislation passed the Senate without amendment today, paving the way for video games to be judged under the same classification tiers as films.

The 2009 discussion paper released by the attorney-general’s department received 58,437 submissions in response, with 98 percent of respondents supporting the introduction of the R18+ rating.

Minister for Home Affairs, Jason Clare, said “These are important reforms over 10 years in the making.”

The States and Territories will pass their own complementary legislation to ensure that R18+ computer games are appropriately regulated. Once established, it is expected that the R18+ rating would be widely adopted from January 2013. Confirmation of this news follows plans outlined by attorney general John Rau to re-badge MA15+ rated titles to R18+ in South Australia.